Rockies & MLB

Carlos Gonzalez (5) of the Colorado Rockies runs for third base before making a bad slide and hurting himself against the Washington Nationals at Coors Field. Major League Baseball action between the Colorado Rockies and the Washington Nationals on Monday, July 21, 2014. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

Carlos Gonzalez said "everything went perfect" with surgery on his left knee Monday in Vail, but the Rockies outfielder might be looking at a rehab that will make him late for spring training.

Gonzalez will be in a walking brace for three weeks with limited mobility. And his rehabilitation will take several months — perhaps pushing back the start of his spring training, Rockies head athletic trainer Keith Dugger said.

"We really don't know how he's going to be until that 4 1/2- to 5-month mark," Dugger said. "He might be a little delayed in spring training. But our goal is to get him there and get him ready."

Doctors cut out a torn part of Gonzalez's patella tendon in his left knee. They also removed a bursa sac and cleaned up a fat pad, Dugger said.

Gonzalez played through left knee tendinitis since spring training. He was shut down last week, on Aug. 14, after an MRI showed his knee injury grew worse in recent weeks.

"We weren't quite sure what way they were going to go (in surgery)," Dugger said. "They ended up removing a whole bursa that was in there. There was a fat pad that was kind of beat up and tore up, they cleaned it out. And then the middle third of the patella tendon, where the actual diseased tissue was, they cut that out and sewed it back together."

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Monday's knee surgery was Gonzalez's third surgery this year — he also had a tumor removed from his left index finger in June and his appendix removed in January.

He returned to Denver from Vail after the surgery and will be on crutches for several weeks.

"Nothing's a cure-all," Dugger said. "Actually, the closest thing to a cure-all is the rehab."

Flande down to Triple-A. The Rockies on Tuesday optioned left-handed pitcher Yohan Flande to Triple-A Colorado Springs and called-up utilityman Matt McBride. They also moved Troy Tulowitzki to the 60-day disabled list.

That leaves right-hander Christian Bergman as an option start Sunday against Miami. Bergman has been out since June 20 with a broken hand.

Cuddy sits. Michael Cuddyer sat Tuesday with "hamstring soreness," Weiss said, after he played both games of a doubleheader Sunday in his return from the disabled list.

Cuddyer finished with 10 at-bats and in the second game he hit for the cycle. "He ran around the bases a lot the other day," Weiss said. "He red-lined the other day."

Betancourt rising. Rafael Betancourt, the Rockies' former closer who is rehabbing after Tommy John surgery on his injured right pitching elbow last September, on Sunday moved up the Triple-A from rookie-level Grand Junction.

"He's building himself up," Weiss said. "We'll see if there's an opportunity to get him in the mix down the stretch."

The rash of injuries that sunk the Rockies' pitching staff touched nearly everybody, including De La Rosa. But Colorado's ace has nonetheless been dependable. He'll make a team-high 26th start against Kansas City, topping 25 starts for the second consecutive season and third time in his career. And in 12 starts at Coors Field, De La Rosa is 8-2 with a 3.30 ERA..

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